In retail establishments, it is often found that the retailer wishes to read and verify the account number on a personal check presented in payment at the point of sale. This is necessary in order to determine whether the check account is covered by sufficient funds. Verification requires that the receipt printer have the capability to read the magnetic indicia on the face of the check. This capability is present on some receipt printers, but often the check is forced to be in constant contact with the read head. This constant pressure causes undue wear, skewing, and other complications. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a means to selectively engage the check with the read head.
The present invention features a selective release mechanism that can be built into a current receipt printer, in order to allow for reading the magnetic characters on the check, during non-print events. The check is introduced into the printer with a face-up orientation. In the normal print zone, the printing carriage enters a "dead zone", wherein the paper check is brought into contact with the read head.
The receipt printer that has been so converted is Model No. 7221, manufactured by the Axiohm Corportion, Ithaca, N.Y. The conversion mechanism provides for reading a check at the point of sale, and achieves this capability with a minimum change in the receipt printer mechanism.
The MICR reading components are located upon a mounting plate of the receipt printing carriage. The mounting plate is used for carriage drive components. The MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) mechanism is incorporated into the typical functions of the carriage of the printer.
The present invention seeks to provide a new method and apparatus for processing checks at the point of sale.
The invention allows for the selective reading and verifying of magnetic ink characters carried on a personal check at the point-of-sale. In order to selectively read the MICR, the conversion mechanism comprises a magnet to magnetize the characters and a read head to read and analyze the signal waveform from each character. The mechanism reads the MICR characters on a check introduced into the printer. The check is introduced face-up. The machine transports the check past a magnet and a magnetic read head. The printing carriage of the receipt printer moves to a dead zone. In the dead zone, the conversion mechanism becomes active, and allows the check indicia to be pressed against the read head in order that the MICR can be read and recognized.